Delaware Lake Water Level
Delaware Lake is at 915.16 ft today (Oct 31), 0.16 ft above its 915 ft full pool, down 0.11 ft this week.
Ohio · Olentangy River
Full pool is the summer level. Delaware Lake is drawn down about 5 ft to roughly 910 ft over winter for flood storage, so a lower reading outside the summer season is usually scheduled rather than drought.
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Water level history
About Delaware Lake
Delaware Lake is a reservoir on the Olentangy River in Ohio, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 915 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Delaware Lake's water level
Delaware Lake is a flood control reservoir first and a recreation lake second, and its level shows it. The Corps of Engineers' Huntington District built the dam on the Olentangy River about four miles north of the city of Delaware between 1947 and 1951, under the Flood Control Act of 1938, and the lake and Delaware State Park both date from 1951. The earth embankment stands 92 feet high and runs 18,600 feet, with a concrete spillway carrying six tainter gates, each 25 by 32 feet, plus five gated sluices. It controls 386 square miles of the upper Olentangy. At the normal summer pool of 915 feet the lake covers about 1,300 acres and holds roughly 14,000 acre feet. The top of the flood control pool is 947 feet, where storage reaches about 132,000 acre feet, more than nine times the summer lake. The top of the dam is 957. Everything between 915 and 947 is space the Corps keeps empty on purpose, so it can hold back storm runoff and meter it down the Olentangy and Scioto valleys.
Because that flood space sits right on top of the recreation pool, Delaware Lake jumps more than most lakes its size. A heavy spring rain over the upper basin can lift it 15 to 20 feet in a few days. In the six years of Corps gauge readings behind this page, the lake topped 930 feet in 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025 and 2026. The highest of those came in April 2025, when the pool climbed from about 914 on 4 April to 937.42 feet late on 8 April, more than 22 feet over summer pool, then took about a week to fall back. A second storm in May 2025 sent it to 932.2. The Corps lists the lake's record pool at 945.4 feet, only about a foot and a half below the top of the flood pool. January 2005 is remembered locally as a near disaster at the dam, and in June 2019 the lake rose more than 20 feet above normal, forcing the campground to be evacuated and the whole state park to close.
In a normal year the guide curve is simple. The Corps holds a winter pool of 910 feet, starts filling on 1 April and reaches 915 by mid April, holds summer pool through October, then lowers the lake about a foot a week through November to be back at 910 by 1 December. That five feet of winter drawdown is extra room for the wet season. It does not always happen on schedule: in fall 2025 the Corps postponed the drawdown because of drought, and the gauge stayed between about 913 and 916 feet all winter. The lowest reading in the recent record, 905.55 feet on 2 December 2022, was about four and a half feet below the usual winter pool. For anglers, Ohio Division of Wildlife biologists rate the crappie fishery as excellent, with steady reproduction of both black and white crappie and a large share of fish over nine inches. Channel catfish surveys in 2018 found catch rates three times the statewide average, though about three quarters of those fish were under 15 inches.
Delaware Lake — frequently asked
What is Delaware Lake's normal water level?
Summer pool is 915 feet, held from mid April through October. Winter pool is 910 feet, held from 1 December to 1 April. The Corps lists the old streambed at the dam at 880 feet, so summer pool puts about 35 feet of water over the original river channel there. Readings above 915 mean the Corps is storing floodwater; readings near 910 in summer would be unusual.
When is Delaware Lake drawn down for winter?
Under the Corps guide curve the drawdown begins 1 November and lowers the lake about a foot a week to 910 feet by 1 December. Refill starts 1 April and reaches 915 around 15 April. Ohio State Parks posts the same five foot drawdown, citing flood control as the reason. In 2025 the Corps postponed the drawdown because of drought, and the lake stayed near summer pool through the winter.
Why is Delaware Lake so high?
The lake exists to hold floodwater. Its flood pool runs from 915 up to 947 feet, and after a big rain the Corps closes down releases to keep the Olentangy below Delaware within its banks, then lets the stored water out over the following days. That is why it can rise 15 to 20 feet in a few days and sit high for a week or more. The Corps lists the maximum nondamaging flow below the dam at about 4,300 cubic feet per second.
What is the highest Delaware Lake has ever been?
The Corps of Engineers lists the record pool at 945.4 feet, about 30 feet above summer pool and roughly a foot and a half below the top of the flood control pool at 947. The heavy rains of January 2005 brought what local historians and the Corps describe as a near disaster at the dam. In recent years the peak was 937.42 feet on 8 April 2025.
What happened at Delaware Lake in April 2025?
Early April storms pushed the lake from about 914 feet on 4 April to a crest of 937.42 feet late on 8 April, more than 22 feet above summer pool and the highest reading of the past six years. The Corps then drained the stored water gradually, and the lake was back near 920 by 15 April. A second storm in early May lifted it again to about 932 feet.
What happens to Delaware State Park when the lake floods?
Low areas of the park go underwater first. In June 2019, when the lake rose about 20 feet above normal and was forecast to crest 23 feet above, the campground was evacuated and the entire park closed that night. Visitors described the park as almost completely covered, with only the top of the levee and a restroom showing. Check lake level before heading out after heavy rain.
How is the fishing at Delaware Lake?
Crappie are the headline species. Ohio Division of Wildlife surveys describe an excellent crappie population with consistent reproduction of black and white crappie, many over nine inches, and tournament fish averaging about a pound. Channel catfish are abundant, at three times the statewide catch rate in 2018 surveys. Largemouth bass run mostly 12 to 15 inches, though electrofishing numbers had been declining.
Other lakes near Delaware Lake
- Dillon LakeOH
- Deer Creek LakeOH
- Leesville LakeOH
- Clendening LakeOH
- Paint Creek LakeOH
- Charles Mill LakeOH
See current levels for all 16 Ohio lakes and reservoirs →
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